Bainbridge ferry loses power, gets stranded

By KOMO STAFF

Published 2:17 pm, Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A jumbo car ferry on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route lost power Tuesday afternoon and became stranded in the waters of Puget Sound, temporarily stopping all service on the state's busiest ferry run.

The ferry Tacoma lost power just outside Bainbridge Island's Eagle Harbor at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday and began drifting near the shoreline to the south. The incident happened during the 12:20 p.m. sailing of the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge.

The ferry then dropped anchor to avoid drifting toward the shore.

The ferry Sealth, on the Seattle-Bremerton route, was diverted from its usual route assist the stranded ferry. A tow rope was attached to pull the Tacoma further away from the shoreline, then the Sealth returned to its regular service.

A tugboat later responded to the scene to tow the stricken ferry to the Washington State Ferries' repair facilities.

Some passengers aboard the Tacoma donned life jackets as a safety precaution. Some 405 passengers and 138 cars are aboard the stricken vessel.

All service on the Seattle-Bainbridge run was suspended indefinitely because the Tacoma is blocking the entrance to Eagle Harbor, where the Bainbridge Island ferry dock is located.

Mark Nadeau, an executive with Sinclair Broadcast Group, was on a sightseeing trip aboard the ferry when it lost power.

"We were going alone fine and all of a sudden we noticed we were kind of heading toward the shore, and then they made an announcement that the ferry is adrift and they're working on the problem. And they dropped anchor," he said.

He said he overheard ferry crew members say it would be some time before the ferry could be brought back into the harbor.

Sailings on both the Bainbridge Island and Bremerton runs are expected to be severely disrupted in the coming hours by the incident.

The Tacoma, one of the largest vessels in the Washington State Ferries fleet, is a 460-foot jumbo ferry capable of carrying up to 2,500 passengers and 202 vehicles.

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This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.